Let This World Explode
by ZeenoMCR
Summary: Almost ghosted and out of luck, Jeopardy Jinx and Silent Riot are found by the Fabulous Killjoys. What kind of trouble can they get into? A lot. A helluva lot. Rated T for language, obviously, and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Jeopardy Jinx POV**

"Dammit, Riot, if you touch me _one more time_, I will shoot you in the face before the Dracs get the chance to!" I screamed, and shot another Drac in my rage.

My best friend—the Killjoy called Silent Riot—mumbled something under his breath and shot a Drac closing in. I leapt over the rusted-out car we had been using for shelter, kicking a Drac in the chest while shooting another one. Riot ran past me, also shooting wildly. A flash of white light shot past him, nearly singing his jacket. I growled in anger and shot the Drac who had attempted to kill him. No one was allowed to shoot my dorkboy but me. We pressed our backs together, turning in circles slowly, shooting any Dracs that were getting close.

Suddenly we were wrenched apart. As ray gun dug into my back, I felt a pang of fear. Riot kept shooting; he hadn't noticed me. They were all dead before he saw me, struggling, eyes wild with fear. I kicked backwards, aiming for that spot that would cause the Drac to drop both me and the ray gun. Unfortunately I missed, and was rewarded with a crack on the back of the neck, where my neck met my head. I groaned as spots danced across my vision, and dropped to the ground. The world spun dangerously, causing me to feel nauseous. Suddenly there was a noise I didn't recognize; a growling noise that reverberated in my bones. I came face to face with the bumper of a beat-up old car. A few quiet shots rang out, and a voice yelled, "Get in!"

Dazed as I was, I climbed to my feet and slipped into the car. "Riot! GET YOUR ASS MOVING!"

He broke out of whatever dweebish trance he was in, and hopped in. I was squished between Riot and a guy with really curly hair. He waved awkwardly. I waved back, trying to find a position where I was actually sitting instead of being squished an inch off of the seat. The youngest guy yelped as he was forced upwards by the crush. "Hey, quit!"

I was immediately pushed right back up. And so the war began. When we finally got to wherever we were going, the young guy and I were hurling insults at each other. The door finally opened, and we were shoved out of opposite sides. I ended up laying on my back again, staring up at the sky. "Ow."

One of the boys was watching me; the one with flame-red hair. He grinned cheekily. "I don't think we've seen an argument like that for a while. What's your name?"

I sat up. "Jeopardy Jinx. You?"

"Party Poison," he replied, and reached out to shake my hand.

I stood finally. The young guy had hopped out, and was making friends with Riot. I walked over to them. "Sorry, man."

"Same to you," he said. "I'm Fun Ghoul."

"Jeopardy Jinx."

And so went the other two introductions. The blond was Kobra Kid; curly-hair was Jet Star. We were sitting outside a dusty old diner. The sign was broken; only the D, I, and E were there. It was sort of ironic. Riot looked up at that. "Well, isn't that pleasant."

"Sure is," said Poison. "That's why we live here."

Jet had to add his two cents. "We call it the Die Diner."

So we all went inside the Die Diner, sitting around a booth. Riot and I sat on one side of the booth. Poison and Kobra sat on the other. Jet and Ghoul pulled up a couple of extra chairs, and we chowed down on beans with little flecks of bacon in it. While Riot wasn't looking, I flung a bean at his immaculate red jacket. It left a nasty brown stain. I sniggered, and finished off the can, getting as much of the sweet sauce from the can as I could. I hadn't had so much to eat in so long that it was sad. After that, we ate from a bag of stale crackers. It tasted better than anything. I had lost so much weight; I wasn't very tall, and was incredibly skinny. It was pathetic.

We finally finished eating, and sat back to talk. I liked all of them, but especially the two brothers, Poison and Kobra. They were funny, and even though Kobra was quiet, they had to be some of the friendliest people I had met. They thought that my badge was the coolest thing ever, or so it seemed. It was black; a purple mushroom with a white skull was in the middle, and under it were the words _Game over_. I liked their badges, too. They suited the guys. We talked for a while, until the sun had long since set. A voice came over the radio.

_"Another day over and done, motor babies. We've had reports of Dracs in zones 3 and 4, so keep an eye open. S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W is in Zone 6, so I want to warn all of the Killjoys out there to keep inside after sunset; some special mentions go to Party Poison, Kobra Kid, Fun Ghoul, and Jet Star. You four have a habit of getting into trouble, so try your hardest to stay safe. Sweet dreams, crash queens. Here's some of The Mad Gear and Missile Kid for those late night partiers out there! Stay beautiful, keep it ugly, and die with your mask on, if you have to."_

Then _Black Dragon Fighting Society_ was playing, and I squealed. I loved that song. I set my mask aside and turned up the radio. I sang as loudly as I could. The guys humoured me, singing too. Riot was the last to join in, and one-by-one, we fell asleep to the others' singing. I was one of the last, falling asleep against Riot, whose quiet singing lulled me into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Jeopardy Jinx POV**

I slept fitfully, despite being full and warm for the first time in so long. Memories of my old life haunted me, as well as the people (well, Dracs) that I had killed. Exterminators and S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/S also haunted my dreams, killing me and bringing me back to life. When I woke up I was almost screaming, and tears fell down my cheeks. I hyperventilated until Riot woke up. He held me until my sobs subsided. Without saying a word, I got up and went to go find a bathroom. I had to let the water run until the rust was gone and then showered until my muscles unclenched. I redressed and walked back to the main room, to find that the guys had woken and already gotten breakfast ready.

There were pancakes served with a pile of what looked like dog food mixed with hash browns. I dug in warily, finding that it was actually quite good. I had always wondered why dogs liked that stuff. I swallowed mouthfuls, and then drank water from the tap behind the counter. A couple of the guys sniggered. I didn't pay attention. I fished through the cabinets and busted-up refrigerator, eventually finding a bottle of milk. I took it over to the guys and showed it to them. "This in date?"

Jet took it from me, sniffed it, and pretended to retch. "Smells rank."

I sighed dramatically. "Well, at least sour milk's good for one thing."

"What?" asked Kobra, and everyone turned to look, because he had actually _spoken_.

I grinned, and shoved it upside-down in Ghoul's shirt while he wasn't looking. He yelped and I immediately ran for the bathroom, because I knew it had a lock on the door. I slammed the door, locked it, and held it closed.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Ghoul shouted. "GET YOUR CHICKEN ASS OUT HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A WOMAN!"

I slammed my palm against the door. "WHY DON'T YOU STOP THREATENING A POOR DEFENSELESS LITTLE GIRL AND GO FUCK YOURSELF?"

There was laughter, and Ghoul grumbled. "You suck."

"I know," I lightly said. "Can I come out _without_ being beat up, now?"

Ghoul was silent. A thump came from somewhere, Ghoul yelled in pain, and then he said, "Yes. God, Riot, QUIT IT! OW! That's my motherfucking EAR!"

I opened the door, to find Riot twisting Ghoul's ear. I shoved my best friend away from Ghoul, who nodded appreciatively. "Thanks. Why the mixed signals? First you pour milk down my shirt, now you save me from a dweeb. What the hell, kid?"

"First, I'm not a kid. I'm eighteen. Secondly, you might just be my friend, so that shows why I'm picking on you. Thirdly, dorkboy was protecting me, which I don't need, so I stopped him," I told him, ticking off the reasons on my fingers.

I helped both of the guys stand up, and told Riot that I wouldn't hesitate to twist _his_ ear if he tried to protect me again. He understood. We all walked back to the dining room, finding the others bantering happily. A man in a wheelchair had joined them. He had dark hair and dark eyes, with a goatee to match. I smiled at him. "Hi."

"Ghoul! How's it going? And you two must be Jeopardy Jinx and Silent Riot," the man said, grinning. "I'm Dr. Death Defying, but you can call me Dr. D."

I stuck out my hand for him to shake. "Everyone calls me Jinx, to make it easier."

Riot shook Dr. D's hand, too, saying that everyone called him Riot. As soon as he'd finished speaking, Jet explained, "Dr. D runs everyone's favourite pirate radio station; 109 KMSN."

"One-oh-nine in the sky and the pigs won't quit!" I immediately said. "It's definitely our favourite station. You always play some kickin' music. It's the only place to hear The Mad Gear and Missile Kid, and all of those _damn_ fine tunes from before the bombs."

"Listen to this girl!" Poison exclaimed. "She's talking like a Killjoy already."

I rolled my eyes. "You're such a smart-ass."

Kobra sniggered. "Kid, you don't know the half of it."

"Uh-oh. Now you've done it!" yelled Ghoul, who took off running.

I rounded on Kobra, violet eyes flashing. He scooted back as far as he could into the bench.

"I. Am. Not. A. Kid," I snarled. "Do you hear me?"

He nodded in fear, consistently keeping his eye on my hand, which was sitting on the butt of my ray gun. My eyes narrowed. "I asked you a question."

"Yes, ma'am!" he squeaked, frightened.

I let my hand drop, and grinned easily. "Good."

Kobra continued to look wary as the others laughed. Ghoul slowly sidled back into the main room. "Are you done yet?"

"Yep!" I all but sang. I was given a bunch of strange looks.

Riot sighed. "You get used to it."

I shoved him. He _so_ pissed me off. So what if I could be ishly bipolar sometimes... I adjusted my shirt to hang right, and slid back onto the booth. The guys (except Riot) watched me warily. I sighed. Dr. D was the first to start grinning again. "She's just the good-humoured kid that we need."

I loosely saluted him. "I'm not only good humoured—my IQ in math in math is 156. My regular IQ is somewhere in the 140s. I'm the brains and the smart-ass; Riot's the brawn, the smart, and the ass."

"HEY!" that came from said dorkboy.

I hugged him. "Meh. You're the ass, I'm the bitch. We're all good."

"Yeah, bitch alright," mumbled Kobra.

I grinned, and replied, "Well thank you!"

"So your IQ is... like... genius level?" asked Poison.

"I guess..."

Dr. D seemed fascinated by that. "It seems that we have a young Einstein with us."

I rolled my eyes at him, and settled back against the booth. I closed my eyes and twirled a stray piece of turquoise hair around my finger while the others talked. I didn't pay attention. They were mostly discussing guns. Only when Jet asked if he could look at my gun did I snap out of my daydream and hand my gun to him. It was colourful, and also had the words _GAME OVER_ on it. They inspected it.

"What colour is the shot?" asked Kobra.

I replied instantly, not even opening my eyes. "Blue."

"How long does your charge last?" Poison.

I smiled. "I dunno. I've never been pressed to use the whole thing. It'll last well over five hundred shots, though."

"It's a newer model, then," guessed Ghoul.

My smile turned to a smirk as I told them, "No. A friend of mine likes fixing things. He took a really old model, and messed with the battery. You have no idea how many blew up in his face before this baby finally came around."

"What's your friend's name?" that was Poison again.

Riot answered that. "His name is Diablo Destroya."

After that, they went to inspecting Riot's gun. I put mine in the holster and got up to go explore the Die Diner's grounds.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kobra Kid POV**

"Hey, guys, I'm gonna go find Jinx," I told the others.

They grunted in reply. That was basically guy-talk for "okay, fine." So I went outside, looking around everywhere. She was nowhere outside. So I went to the garage. She wasn't there, either. But then I heard ray gun shots. I walked in that direction warily, thinking it was a trap. Standing with her back to a dead tree, firing shots at a line of soda cans, was Jeopardy Jinx. She took an extra empty can out of her backpack and slung it up in the air as hard as she could. The can glinted in the unrelenting desert sun for a moment, before she shot it. The can fell to the ground, about forty feet behind where it had been thrown from, a hole burnt clean through the middle.

I watched for a few moments, until she began whirling gracefully, sending shots flying into the surrounding shrub and other dead trees. I admitted that it was kind of beautiful, seeing her hair fan out and the sun twinkle off of her amazing violet eyes. Her personality reminded me of a younger, more volatile, female version of Poison.

She finally noticed me. Jinx grinned widely, revealing slightly-stained teeth.

"Howdy, stranger!" she sang. Her voice had a noticeable country twang to it.

I raised a hand in a wave. The petite girl gestured me over, saying, "I've been looking for a training partner. I know better than to try and talk to Riot while he's obsessing over weaponry."

I nodded and walked over. Jinx barely reached my shoulder, but I believed that she was as deadly as or more so than any Killjoy. She explained that she wanted to work on her skills with both a gun and hand-to-hand combat, as she was much better at sniping due to her size. So we both set our guns aside and began sparring. I took a swing at her, ready to pull back if she hadn't moved. But she did, and gently batted my arm away. I took another swing. Jinx ducked, lightly sending her fist into my stomach. I imagined that a full blow would have winded me, at the very least. Quick as lightning, she spun behind me. Then she was on my back, arms around my neck. She would have me in a strangle hold, if she was gripping any more tightly.

"Ha!" she cheerily exclaimed in my ear. "You're a dead man, Kobra."

"Really?" I asked.

She nodded. Immediately, I flipped her over my shoulder, and dropped her on the ground. "UGH!"

I grinned down at her. "Ha."

She swung wildly with her hands and I didn't get what was happening until she hit the back of my knee. Surprised, I fell forwards. Jinx was on top of me, then, with her knee digging into my back. I scrabbled for a way to get her off of me, but I was stuck. I growled. "Crap. Oh, I hate you so much."

She got off, and helped me up. "You know you don't."

I shrugged. "You don't know that."

"Yeah I do. Because I'm smart."

"Nah, you're smart with numbers, not with emotions."

"I'll give you that."

"Hey, first time a genius has admitted to me being smarter than them in something."

"I never exactly admitted that, per se."

"Touché."

Then Jinx gave me an odd look. "I thought you don't really talk much."

"Is my talking a bad thing?" I asked.

She shook her head, blue hair splaying in a thousand different directions. "Nah. You should talk more. You let the others take the spotlight. Of all the times I've heard the guys say anything on Dr. D's show; I've never heard you say a single word. C'mon man, I know there's something going on in that head of yours!"

I grinned. "You don't know that, either, Jinx."

"Oh I don't, do I?"

"Nope."

"Your lack of faith in me is wounding my ego," said the petite girl with mock hurt in her voice.

I raised my eyebrows. "We wouldn't want that to happen. I mean, it must've taken a long time to get your ego the size of Battery City."

Her face went bright red, and I was afraid that I'd pissed her off. But she started laughing, holding her sides. Jinx fell back onto the sand, howling with laughter.

"What did you do to Jinx?" I heard a voice say.

Jet was walking up behind me, confusion plain on his features. I shrugged. "I told her she had an ego the size of Battery City. Then this happened."

I heard Riot speak then. "Oh, God, not again… She won't stop laughing for like a half hour. For the rest of the day, she'll break out laughing, too."

Then Ghoul came running, a bucket of water in his arms, yelling what sounded like a battle cry, except he was yelling, "DON'T KILL ME!"

Jinx was suddenly doused in water. Her violet eyes flashed. Her gun was immediately out. She clicked it to stun and shot Ghoul, who dropped into the sand, twitching. Poison had been walking behind Ghoul, obviously. He crouched beside our stupid young friend, and checked his pulse. Apparently Ghoul was still alive. Poison stood up. "You know, it's a lot more peaceful when Ghoul's stunned. We might have to shoot him more often."

Jinx was apparently in a bad mood, but that caused her to crack a smile. "I'll volunteer for shooting-Fun-Ghoul duty."

"You said duty!" exclaimed Jet.

I smacked my forehead, as did Jinx. Riot and Poison both rolled their eyes.

"Why do guys like jokes about shit and farts so much? I mean, seriously!" Jinx asked. "I really need to know."

Poison decided to answer that. "Well, you see, Jinx, little boys and girls are born with a cockroach in their brain that feeds off of jokes about farts and shit. When a little girl turns eight, it falls out of her nose. But the boys' cockroach stays. Because of this, a dude always likes jokes about shit and farts."

I bust out laughing. Jinx looked like her bad mood had disappeared. A broad smile broke across her face. The frown from earlier seemed so out of place on her bright, rounded face. And she was pretty. I could see why Riot kept looking at her, and smiling like she brightened up his day. But to me, she would never be more than a slightly bipolar younger sister.

We all finally finished having our little happy moment; Jinx shot a sly look at Riot. "I'd like to challenge you boys to a free-for-all shootout."

Jet, Ghoul, Poison, and I looked at each other. I don't think any of us quite understood what she meant until she explained it. "Me and Riot practise shooting all the time like that. We set our guns on the lowest setting—y'know, the one that feels like a static shock—and basically see who'll last the longest in a shootout."

We finally got it, and thought it was a great idea. We all set our guns on low, and spread out. Time for some fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**_AN: So I originally wrote another version of this, but my flash-drive was being a MORON, and it got erased. This is the 2nd version. Enjoy! I don't think it's as good, but keeps to the same basic thing that happened in the other version. Has a little bit of sad, just Jinx's past…_**

**Party Poison POV**

I figured one of my group would win, because we knew the land best. What I didn't expect was that as soon as we called 'go', there was a curse and Ghoul stalked back towards the diner. After that, all was still. Taking a chance, I scooted across an open space to a spot behind a boulder. No one had noticed me, or so I hoped, as Kobra dashed in my direction. He ended up in my old spot, not noticing the pattern of footprints in the sand. Silently, I crept up behind him.

"FUCK!" my brother exclaimed as I zapped the back of his head.

I grinned. "Sorry."

"Sure you are."

He walked away, a frown on his face. A few moments passed. I was getting bored, so I took a chance to get closer to Jinx or Riot. I ran across the open space, dodging a few shots; two different colours, blue and orange, so they must've come from Riot and Jinx. I got caught up in a skirmish with Jet on the way to get to the top players. He had me cornered between a boulder and a tree but I ducked out of the way, and shot him in the back. With a shrug, he jogged over to the diner, where I saw Ghoul and Kobra making bets. The odds were apparently not in my favour. I tried to get close to Jinx (without her, getting Riot wouldn't be a problem) but a slight zap hit my chest. Riot was the culprit, grinning widely. "Sorry, Poison. She's _mine_."

I figured he meant that in more ways than one. I walked away, and stood with the others. Jinx finally walked out of hiding, smirking. "You and me, sweetie."

"Like usual," was his casual reply.

When they stopped and faced each other, Jinx's right side was to us, and Riot was directly in front of her. He lifted his gun and shot. I waited for the telltale signs that she was shot, but the tiny girl whirled out of the way more gracefully than any dancer. She lithely leapt and fell, twisting and turning. She had us all captivated. Suddenly she was behind Riot, her arms around his neck. I heard Kobra snigger. Apparently Jinx had caught _him_ that way. She zapped Riot in the side. "I win!"

He laughed. Jinx let him go and pecked his cheek gently. Then she loped towards us, punching her fist towards the sky. Ghoul went to give her a hug, but was suddenly on the ground, twitching, again. I didn't bother to check his pulse again. Jinx smiled grimly. "I have this thing about people touching me."

Then she walked away, and I swore I saw a tear rolling down her face as she walked into the diner. I followed her inside, and heard the heartbroken sobs before I saw her collapsed against a booth. Silently, I sat beside her. She hadn't noticed me. I took my chances at being stunned, and hugged her gently. At first she stiffened, and a strange noise pulled out of her chest. Then she wrapped her arms around my torso, crying into my chest. We stayed that way for a while, and I patted her back, mumbling, "It's okay. Let it out."

She shook her head eventually, pulling away. "Sorry I ruined your shirt."

I glanced down, and shrugged. "It doesn't matter. What matters is why you were crying."

Jinx met my eyes, and then sighed.

"When I was little, my dad died. My mom remarried to this loser named Jack. He drank and was a huge pig. He beat my mom, and called her terrible names. He beat me, too, whenever Mom wasn't home. I started acting out at school, which brought me more trouble at home, with Mom. She would get drunk and hit me, too, even though she never had before. Sober, she was the only reason I existed. Drunk, she was the reason I wanted to kill myself. I slit my wrists, I tried to OD… Nothing worked. I came in from school one day, and saw that Mom was home. She was lying on the couch. I tried to wake her up.

"She was dead, of course. She'd overdosed on sleeping pills. I was stuck with Jack for a while longer, and he tried to abuse me in other ways. So I stole a first generation ray gun from Riot's house, and shot him in the head. I don't regret it. Riot ran away with me—he was adopted, and hated his guardians anyway. The only things I have to remind me of that life are my wrists—" here she showed me the scars on both wrists "—and Riot."

I decided I would tell her my story, too. "I was in New York when the bombs dropped, with Jet, Ghoul, and Kobra. Our wives and kids were out at a park, goofing off. We were at home, playing video games and goofing off, just in a different way. We felt something like an earthquake, and turned on the news. The only thing on any of the channels was that God damned smiley face. It kept saying, _Everything's okay. The aftermath is secondary. Keep smiling._

"So of course, none of us trusted it. We went to get the girls, but they weren't there. By that point BL/Ind was taking over the city. They were gassing people and kidnapping them in vans. We ran like cowards, and didn't stop. Well, until we got to Battery City, anyway. We stayed there for a night, stocking up on supplies and medicine and everything. Then we took off down Route Guano, in this same old Trans Am. We've been here ever since. Dr. D's the original first Killjoy, but we're the first ones he got to train and tell what Killjoys actually are. So… Yeah."

Jinx decided to ask me a question. "What were your family's names?"

"My daughter was Bandit and my wife was Lindsey," I replied.

She looked like she was deliberating something. "I'm Cassie."

"Pardon?"

"My name is Cassie—Cassie Hills," she said quietly.

I was amazed. She trusted me that much… "I'm Gerard Way."

"From My Chemical Romance?" she was suddenly excited. "Oh my goodness, I'm friends with an epic person!"

I laughed. "Well, I could say the same about you!"

Her pale face flushed pink, and she was laughing, too. The guys walked in, with Riot in the lead. "Is it safe yet?"

Jinx flashed them a dirty look and a rude gesture, and then went to grab a can of Power Pup.

I stood up, and walked over to the group, all of which were staring at me oddly.

"She let _you_ touch her?" Ghoul asked incredulously. "What the fuck's wrong with this world?"

I shrugged. "Nothing more than usual."

When my friends went to go get a booth, Riot held me back. "She's got a reason to be so messed up."

"I know. She told me."

"But did she tell you that she's actually certifiable?"

"What do you mean?"

He peeked around and, finding Jinx completely absorbed in a conversation with the others. "She's been diagnosed with psychosis. I tried to get her to go to Battery City to get help, but she won't. So whenever I can, I'll steal some for her. She'll get better for a while, then crash and freak out. She sees spiders a lot. She's deathly afraid of spiders, and won't admit it."

"Like Ghoul," I told him. "He runs screaming from an itty bitty daddy-long-legs, but will run _to_ a whole army of Dracs."

That made Riot grin. "Yeah, like that, except Jinx can't run from hers. She hallucinates them. When she crashes, you'll know. She ends up crying and almost hurting herself trying to get away."

Suddenly, Jinx let out a shriek. "HOLY FUCK IT'S RAINING!"

She went running outside, the BOOMbox (named for the colourful BOOM on the side) held tightly under her arm. By the time we were outside, she had set up the BOOMbox and was dancing in the pouring rain. Her hair was stuck down to her forehead and face, and she was spinning.

Jet snickered, saying, "You look like an idiot!"

"You're a foopie!" Jinx yelled at him, and then fell over. "FUCK!"

Riot had to explain that. "She just called Jet a pussy. A friend of ours rubbed off on her, especially the language."

"I don't appreciate that!" Jet yelled back.

"I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S FUZZY ASS!" Jinx retorted.

We all started laughing, and stayed out there, acting crazy until the rain stopped. Ghoul turned off the radio. "Maybe it'll rain again."

"In ten years," Kobra joked.

Quietly, we went back inside. We settled down in the dining area, and one by one, drifted off to sleep. My final conscious thought was:

_God, I make some screwed up friends._


	5. Chapter 5

**Jeopardy Jinx POV**

I woke up half-squished between Poison and Riot. I didn't honestly mind. I had overheard their conversation the night before, and it was nice to know that I was still trusted, even though I was messed up in the head. After lying still for a few moments, I got up and carefully picked my way over the sleeping guys. I was finally outside, breathing in the clean dawn air. A twig snapped somewhere. I figured it was one of the guys coming to keep me company. I pulled my baggy hoodie tightly around me, shivering.

"Hello?" called a small voice. It sounded like a little girl. "Anyone there?"

I looked around, trying to ignore the prickling feeling in my arms. I had learned to tune that out long ago. It was a side-effect of my disease. "Yes? Who is it?"

And then there was a little girl in front of me, no taller than my shoulder. She had a mass of wildly curly brown hair, and sweet brown eyes. I tried to smile. "What's your name?"

"Just call me Girl," she replied. "You?"

"I'm Jeopardy Jinx. Call me Jinx."

"Nice to meet you. I've been out in the desert for four months. I was separated from my group when our camp was raided, and I've been running ever since," said Girl.

I nodded. "Want to come inside? You can have some water and some Power Pup, and meet the others of my group."

Girl grabbed my hand, and I lead her into the diner. The guys were already gathered around a booth, eating Power Pup. "Hey guys," I called. "Look what I found—or rather, found me."

The five guys looked over, inspecting the tiny girl that held onto my hand. I pulled her gently to the kitchen with me and set her on the counter, giving her a can of Power Pup with the top popped and a spoon in it. I also gave her a small bottle of water. She quickly ate the Power Pup, and sipped the water. I checked her over for injuries, and put a Band-Aid on a couple of spots where she had scrapes. Then I wiped her face free of dust with a damp rag, finding her face was actually very pale. She almost reminded me of a smaller, female version of Jet Star, but somehow of Poison. It was something about her face... I gently set her back on the floor, and she wandered over to the guys.

"Hi! I'm Girl," said Girl. "I recognise you guys from the posters in Battery City. I don't recognise you, though."

"I'm Silent Riot."

"Nice to meet you."

"Same here, kiddo."

Girl dragged over a chair, sitting down directly beside Poison, who watched her out of the corner of his eye. I grabbed myself a can of Power Pup and pulled up another chair. We quizzed her quickly about where she had come from, and she confidently repeated what she had told me. Either the girl was a sociopath, or she was telling the truth. I ignored the spider crawling up my arm. If it was real, someone would say something. As it crawled closer to my neck, I brushed it away, feeling sick when I felt real flesh. _It's not real. Not real._

"You okay?" That was Jet, watching me anxiously.

I shrugged. "If you call diagnosed psychosis, hallucinating a tarantula, and always feeling like someone's grabbing at you, then yes—I'm fine."

Silence fell. "Why aren't you on pills?" asked Ghoul.

I tried to smile. "Because I don't want to spend my life in a drug-induced haze. I want to live, even if that means braving breakdowns and hallucinations and jumbled thoughts!"

Girl looked up at me in awe. I gently put my arm around her, squeezed once, and removed it. I raised an eyebrow as everyone stared. "Do I need to start stunning people again?"

Immediately they looked anywhere and everywhere else but me. I took a look at Girl, saying, "Want to head out to the shooting range with me?"

Her face lit up, and she nodded forcefully. I asked to see her gun, and set it on stun just in case her aim was terrible.

It was cute—neon pink, with bright green shot through it. Her symbol was painted on the grip—a black cassette tape with a bright yellow X through it. On the barrel, _Sunshine_ was scrawled in teal writing, along with a tiny smiley-face.

I handed it back, and we walked outside, to where the boulders were lined up with spray-painted bull's-eyes. I set to work on one boulder, leaving scorch marks almost dead-center in the middle of the bull's-eye. Girl immediately showed off, leaving every single shot almost in the exact same spot. I raised my eyebrows. Not to be outdone, I took a shot at every single boulder. Each shot hit its mark in the dead center. Girl reset her gun to full power. "I can handle it, Jinx."

We spent about an hour wearing down the charge on our guns by shooting at the boulders until they began chipping. Finally, finally, we stopped, grinning at each other. "I like you, kid. You've got spunk."

"Same to you."

I brought her back to the diner, where the guys were gathered around an old CB radio. I hushed Girl and we walked over. Dr. D was delivering a list of names, some of which I recognized.

_"—Static Avalanche, Freedom Fighter, and Beautiful Mess are all Killjoys that have gone missing in the newest S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W attack. They have either been dusted or kept and brainwashed, so keep your eyes open. Help is only a call away, but only use the secure frequency 4065.5! All others can and will be traced by BL/Ind, and we don't need that, tumbleweeds! Again, be careful out there, especially at night; the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/Ws are out hot and heavy. This is Dr. D signing off."_

The guys shut off the radio, and turned around, to see me standing there with Girl, who was slightly behind me. I lowered my eyes. "I knew Freedom Fighter and Static Avalanche. They were old friends of mine. Freedom and Static sort of relied on each other. Did they mention Maniac Brainiac?"

"No, was she with their group?" Jet asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, her and Diablo Destroya, and one of my other friends—Helluva Hermes."

"He wasn't mentioned, either," said Ghoul. "Maybe they got out."

We were all silent for a moment. Riot walked over to me, and gently put an arm around me. "Everything's gonna all work out, Jinx. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," I mumbled darkly.

Riot gave me a long look. "Too late, I've already promised it. I swear that everything will be okay."

"NO IT WON'T!" I exploded. "GOD DAMMIT ALL! IT WILL NEVER BE OKAY EVER AGAIN! I TRY TO STAY HOPEFUL, BUT WE'RE DOOMED!"

I dropped on the floor, lying flat there. Poison looked over at me warily. "Don't say that."

"Too late, already have," I mocked. "God, I hate this sometimes."

Jet sat beside me. "We've got to keep going on, though. If we don't keep trying, then there's no way to know whether or not we'll ever get out alive. We'll be no better than those fuckers from BL/Ind if we just give up."

"I know," I sighed, sitting upright again. "I just get pissed at the world, sometimes. It's hard to keep going on, because I'm fucked in the head, and it feels like everyone's out to get us. I'm tired, Jet."

And once again, I cursed my jumbled thoughts. I hated my disease—half the time, I fucking hated myself. I pressed my face into my hands, trying to calm down. I didn't want to cry. I felt like that was a weakness. _Well, you didn't have a hard time going all sob-fest on Poison._

I hated my inner monologue, too. It was a bitch. _Sort of like you…?_

_Shut up._

_Naw, I'm good._

I finally stood up. The guys had slowly drifted away, leaving me alone. I stood up and walked outside. I walked for a moment, until I got to the road. I stepped onto the asphalt. I was in no danger of being hit by a car. I could feel the heat from the road even through my shoes. I desperately wanted to start walking. So I did. I pulled my MP3 player (stolen from BL/Ind, apparently NewsAGoGo was cheating on her own policy of no creativity) from my pocket, put on _You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)_ by Paramore, and started walking. I began singing.

As I walked, I saw heat shimmering up from the road. I kept walking, though the heat began to get to me. I eventually heard a car motor over the music. I continued walking, though I turned off the music.

"Jinx!" called Poison. "Stop!"

I kept walking.

"Jinx!" that was Riot.

I ignored him, keeping my eyes on the road. The engine cut off and there were footfalls. Riot was suddenly in front of me, holding my wrists. He was trying to keep me from walking. I tried to pull away, twisting and turning.

"Jinx!" he tried to say.

I wouldn't listen, so finally, he yelled, "CASSIE, LISTEN TO ME!"

I froze. _Cassie..._ I hadn't been called that for so long. I met his eyes, which were horrified. He'd realised what he'd done. He'd said my name—and not the one I'd chosen. He'd said the one that I hadn't used since the bombs dropped.

"Matt..." I whispered, and threw myself into his arms, holding him close.

I felt myself crumbling inside.

"I feel like I'm doing everything wrong!" I sobbed against his chest. "I feel like I'm holding you guys back! I will _never_ be able to do everything you guys can do. I'll never be able to be relaxed, and totally calm. I'll always be trigger-happy and paranoid! I'm a danger, and I'm so messed up... I hate myself!"

He hugged me tightly, but I wasn't having it. I pushed away. "No! I'm... God, I'm sick and tired of feeling this way. I... I keep thinking that you'd have been better off if I had gone to Battery City, instead of tagging along. At least I wouldn't be a danger to you guys."

"You're not!" Ghoul exclaimed. "You're the best shot of any of us, and more brave than any other Killjoy that I know."

Kobra spoke after him. "Just because you're different, doesn't mean you're a danger to us. You see the world differently. It's not bad."

I looked back, to see the four men looking at me encouragingly. I looked to Poison. He smiled, looking like the cocky yet sweet man that he was. Jet grinned at me. Kobra was smiling. Ghoul gave me a thumbs-up, which I almost smiled at. I looked over at Riot. He nodded. I took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. Okay. I'll go back. But it doesn't mean my feelings will change. I'll still hate what's wrong with me. On bad days, I'll still hate myself."

"Don't," Riot said.

I smiled darkly. "Whatever you say, Riot."

I turned and walked to the car. Poison stopped me. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

I lanced him with my violet eyes. "Easy for you to say. You don't know, Poison. None of you does. And I'm sorry, but I'll forever hate myself."

I then got in the back seat of the car. Girl was there, sitting on the left. I sat in the middle, while Ghoul sat on my right, and Jet was to his right. Riot was in the front passenger's seat, with Poison driving. "Kobra's on his motorcycle," said Jet.

I nodded. "Cool."

Poison drove like a madman.

I felt sick by the time we were halfway back to the Die Diner. I turned around to look behind us, only to see Kobra wildly shooting behind him, at a BL/Ind car. I grabbed my gun from the holster and took Girl's place. I hung out of the window, shooting at the tires of the car. There were also two blindingly (pun intended) white motorcycles, with Dracs on them. I aimed for one of them, easily hitting him in the head. He fell off of the bike, immediately being run over by the car.

A bald man was driving the car, looking pissed as hell. Kobra managed to shoot the other Drac, and another volley of shots joined ours. Ghoul was helping. Riot poked his head out, shooting as well. We hit the tires and the car spun out. I slapped Poison on the shoulder. "Stop!"

And immediately we were stopped. I clambered out, running over to Kobra.

"You okay?"

He nodded, and replied, voice muffled by his helmet, "Yeah, fine. No injuries. Let's check out the car."

I nodded, and pulled my bandana up. I also pulled my goggles down, hiding my identity. I adjusted my old helicopter headset and pulled out my gun, warily walking towards the car. The driver was gone—not dead, but just simply missing. I cussed. Kobra sighed. "Now we have to find this motherfucker."

"Let's go."

Girl insisted on coming, and walking with Poison. We split up, and began looking for the driver.

**=X=**

We ended up finding the driver, with a squad of Dracs for back-up. Our group stood facing his, in a perfect line. The bald man crossed one arm against his chest, holding his gun. I watched as Poison tilted his head upwards slightly in defiance, glaring at him from behind the yellow mask that he loved so much. I pulled my gun from its holster. Girl had the BOOMbox, and hit the button to play music from Dr. D's broadcast. _Back in Black_ by ACDC played, and I grinned. Perfect for a gun battle. The bald man had finally had enough, and began shooting. We fired at each other, and for the first time, I felt a shot hit my face. I almost screamed from the pain. It felt like someone had burnt a hole through me, doused it in lighter fluid, and lit it on fire.

Suddenly I was grabbed. I was hauled backwards, and my wrists were shackled in front of me. I flung myself forwards, trying to escape. Grunts escaped me as I struggled against the hands holding me. In front of me, the guys were laying on the ground. Girl was also being held, and she struggled, as well. They were either dead or stunned—I hoped desperately it was the latter. The Drac had no trouble keeping his arms around me. I lurched forwards again as I saw Poison's eyes open. "Poison!" I exclaimed.

I kicked backwards, and was immediately let go of. I skidded over towards him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, looking tired and pained. "Jinx—I'm sorry."

"No, I am. I wish things were different. If I could've fought harder... If I could've dodged the shot... I'm sorry, Poison," I whispered.

He tried to reply, but his eyes shifted to something over my shoulder. His mouth opened. "Watch out—"

And then everything was black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Silent Riot POV**

When I woke up, I was lying beside a burnt-out fire pit. Jinx was nowhere to be found. I supposed she'd gone walking. I stood up and dusted off my pants. Ghoul was basically passed out, lying on his back with the soles of his feet pointing towards the fire pit. Kobra was on the other side, directly beside Poison. Both were out cold. And Jet was laying a little ways behind Ghoul. I picked my way over my friends, to where the food backpack was. I pulled out a can of dog food and ate it quickly, grimacing at the slimy texture. I washed it down with something in a flask—probably booze. It burnt as I swallowed, but was warm in my stomach. Ghoul turned over, mumbling, "No, mommy, I don't like jelly donuts..."

I almost kicked him. Almost. But I didn't, and sat there sipping at the flask. Someone finally stirred. It was Kobra. He sat beside me, and I handed him the flask. He accepted gratefully.

"Listen Riot..." Kobra said quietly. "I think I should tell you something."

I raised my eyebrows. If Kobra had something to say, it was probably important. I waited as he took a long drink. "It's about Jinx."

Fear shot through me. "What happened? What happened to Jinx?"

His pale face was drawn into a tired frown. "She died, Riot. Korse ghosted her."

"NO!" I cried.

Kobra watched me from the corner of his eyes as I had a breakdown. I was crying more than I ever had. I snatched the flask from Kobra, and drank as much as I could. I felt like I needed those BL/Ind pills.

"Where is she?" I whispered. "I need to see her."

Kobra pointed behind us, where I saw a petite figure covered in a colourful sheet. I walked over and gently pulled away the sheet. And there she was, beautiful even though her blue hair was stuck down to her face by sticky rust-coloured blood. I brushed away the hair, and took a long look at her peaceful features. She could've been sleeping. I kissed her forehead gently.

"You don't have to run anymore," I whispered. "You're free, Cassie. You're free."

And then I walked away. I felt like a part of me had died. The guys were all awake—how could they not be, after my screaming? I wanted to kill something. I wanted to slowly torture Korse until he died. I tried to calm down. I sat back down beside Kobra.

"And Girl?" my voice was terribly strained.

Kobra looked sadder, if that was possible. "Poison told me that she got taken by BL/Ind. They were gonna take Jinx, but she got loose. She ran over to Poison, because he was awake. And they killed her right in front of him. He actually drank until he fell asleep—and he hasn't been drunk for many years."

I glanced at the red-haired man, who seemed more tired than I had ever seen him. I could relate. It seemed death liked to pick on the Killjoys. I hated that I had never gotten to tell Cassie how I felt about her. I hadn't loved her like a sister—I'd been in love with her, and always wanted to protect her. But I had failed her. I pressed my face into my hands.

_At least she's away from her disease. She doesn't have to cope with her hallucinations. She'll finally be happy, and never have to worry again._

We were all silent. Even Ghoul didn't have the heart to try and make light of things. Jet was the one to break the silence. "We need to go get Girl, as soon as possible. We'll have a funeral for Jinx when we get back. We'll give her what many of us will never get."

It should've made me feel better. Jinx would get a definite ending. But I still felt like punching a brick wall. Oh well… We'd get Girl back from BL/Ind, and I could kill Korse while we were there… I would kill him for killing _my_ Jinx. _My_ Cassie. That made me feel better. I'd avenge her. I would set things right.

**Short, but it's a filler chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Jeopardy Jinx POV**

I had thought death would be peaceful. I was wrong.

I woke up lying on the ground. My usual colourful outfit had been replaced by a gothic-looking dress. It reminded me something straight out of a vampire movie.

"Too much black," I mumbled. "But cute."

Rectangular goggles took the place of my normal round, steampunk-esque ones. I stood up, and looked around. I was standing in Battery City, but it was different. The sky was covered in thick gray clouds. The street was flecked with red and black confetti, like a dark parade had passed through. And above my head—strung between two street lamps—was a sign that read: "Welcome to the Black Parade!"

I felt an irrational fear coursing through my veins. I did not _want_ to get away. I _needed_ to get away. Something terrible had happened, or was about to happen. And suddenly I was at home. The clouds still churned overhead, but I was home! I raced up the familiar cracked drive. "MOM!"

If I was dead, then she'd be there, smiling and laughing. Because the door was locked, I found myself hammering at it, desperately trying to get the door open. "MAMA!"

Suddenly something had ahold of my ankle. I kicked backwards to free myself and whirled around. Hundreds of hands had broken from the ground, twisting and groping for something. I didn't know what, and I didn't per se _want_ to know.

"Mama we all go the Hell," I whispered. The song suddenly seemed so true.

People were climbing from the ground; a gruesome sight. I recognized my mother, her face drawn into a dark sneer. "You're the reason I killed myself!" she snarled.

I shrunk back. But then I saw Poison, freeing himself from the ground behind her. His eyes glittered cruelly from under his yellow mask. "You could've saved Girl."

Ghoul didn't have his Frankenstein mask on, and I was suddenly struck by how young and naïve he looked. "You're the reason we're in such a mess."

That one hit close to home.

"You _deserve_ to be dead!" That was Kobra—sweet, kind Kobra that I'd learned to love as my own brother.

Jet spoke last. "You're right to hate yourself."

Accusations and insults were hurled at me. I slid down the door, and crushed my knees to my chest. I almost screamed. It was worse than the withdrawal after the stupid BL/Ind pills had worn off. The worst I ever saw, then, was spiders. _Spiders…_

There was a furious clicking, hissing noise. I looked up and heard another noise—a hideous, inhuman wailing. _Oh, I'm screaming…_

Spiders were terrible, gross, frightening, _icky_… And one stood right in front of me—ten feet tall with four-foot pinchers. It was dark-coloured, with hair-like spikes sticking from it. I tried to stop freaking out, but it was a TEN FOOT TALL FUCKING SPIDER! I groped wildly for my gun, and found it in an unfamiliar shoulder holster. I fired ten rounds into the beast's maw. It shrieked and fell away, running as fast as it could.

"FUCK YOU, LITTLE BITCH!" I shrieked.

The scenery changed again. I was in a chapel, staring out at the open aisle. A figure stood at the altar, and people chattered excitedly in the pews. The bridal march began, and I was pulled forwards. I looked up, finding my dad—my _real_ dad—smiling down at me. I grinned. He left me at the altar, where a familiar boy stood in front of me.

"Riot!" I excitedly whispered.

He held out a hand for me to take, which I held immediately. Then something happened. His hand began crumbling and dissolving. I felt my glee turn to horror. "RIOT! MATT!"

His figure collapsed to the ground, only gray ashes. I wheeled around. Everyone stared ahead, eyes unfocused. I noticed how uncannily it looked like a funeral, except the four men and one tiny girl in the front left pew. They were dressed in wild colours, with equally wild hair. Their eyes were unfocused, though. I stepped forwards, but heard strange crunching noises under my feet. I looked down, to see hundreds of orange pill bottles with creepy smiley faces plastered on them. I wheeled around. The pews were empty, and there was a squad of four Dracs, guns trained directly on me. I dodged every shot, and shot them down, myself.

When I unmasked them, I fell backwards onto the floor, scooting away. "No... Oh, God, no..."

They were the guys—the clever, amazing Killjoys that I had made friends with. I put my head down, finally sobbing. "What did I ever do?"

And there I sat, crying my heart out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Agent Lego POV**

"God dammit all!" I grumbled. "Would you quit your whining?"

We were still looking for Bandit (codenamed Girl), who had gone missing. One of my best friends (named Lindsey Way, usually referred to as Hydrogen Cyanide) was her mother, and was freaking out. The rest of us weren't—Bandit was a smart girl, she could take care of herself. We came into view of a diner, covered in EXTERMINATE posters and graffiti. Cyanide took the lead, mask up and gun out. Christa (AKA: Danger Mouse) was directly beside me.

My mind drifted, even though I was completely alert. I was thinking of my old life. But I came around as we got to the door. Cyanide was the one to call out. "Hello?"

I heard a faint scuffling, and pointed towards a toppled table. The toe of a black boot stuck out.

"Gotcha!" I mouthed to the others.

Danger grinned. I was the one to step forwards silently, moving to the left of the table while Danger took the right.

"Look alive, sunshine," Cyanide whispered mockingly from behind me.

And suddenly there was a gun on my forehead. "Motherfucker!"

"Holy shit!" that was Danger.

The man holding the gun to my head had on a motorcycle helmet, with _Good luck_ written across the visor. "What do you want?" his voice was slightly muffled, but cold.

I knew that voice. My mind flashed back to seven years ago, the last time I'd seen my Mikey. _"Don't have too much fun without me. We'll spend some quality time together when you guys get back—cross my heart."_

I turned my gun so I held it by the barrel, and let it drop to the ground. Then, carefully, I unlaced my mask. It fell away, too, dropping onto the floor. I felt bare and exposed for a second, but suddenly I was being held tightly by a pair of familiar arms. I was almost crying as I pressed my face into the crook of Mikey's neck. We stood there for God only knows how long, only paying attention to each other. I stepped away when I had noticed the helmet still on his head, and pulled it off. He grinned that familiar half-smile and took my hand very gently.

I saw Cyanide squeezing the guy with red hair to death—must've been Gerard. Christa was smiling as she hugged Ray, who was actually _smiling_. Frank looked devastated, and left out. I unwillingly let go of Mikey, and walked over to the youngest of the four men.

"Hey, Frankie," I said casually.

He glared at me. "Where's Jamia?"

I tapped my chin, pretending I had no idea who he was talking about. "Oh, _that_ Jaima. Yeah, she's at our camp with Cherry and Lily. Hold up."

I grabbed the radio off of Cyanide's belt, not even glancing at her because I knew she was making out with Gee. I spoke into the radio quickly. "This is Agent LEGO, calling for Conspiracy Theory. Anyone there?"

_"Oh, hi Auntie Lego,"_ said a sweet voice. _"It's Crash. You want me to get Mom?"_

"Sure, hon. Put her on." And then to Frank, I explained, "Crash is Lily and Burn is Cherry."

He grinned proudly. "My little girls, the Killjoys."

_"You've got Conspiracy Theory,"_ Theory finally responded. _"How are you girls holding up?"_

"Other than the fact that we're having to witness Gerard and Lindsey making out again, fine," I replied cheekily. "There's a certain dog-obsessed short person that wants to see you, too."

_"Frank?"_ her voice was immediately happier. _"Wait so you found _all_ of the guys? Sweet. Tell Frank I love him, okay? And that the girls are okay. By the way, I took Crash and Burn out for a little while, and we got some water and more food. That warehouse had a ton, and not just Power Pup for once. Listen, bring the guys back. I'll talk to you later, Lego."_

I could tell she was happy, and relieved. Jamia had been worrying a lot about the guys, especially about her Frank. I heard her take on an adoring tone for a moment.

_"Cherry!"_ she cooed. _"Come here."_

She started humming a lullaby, which was cut off when she'd taken her thumb off of the talk button. I smiled and put the radio on my belt. My smile turned to a smirk when I pulled Ray, Mikey, Danger, and Frank over to the side, and whispered my evil plan.

All at once, we screamed, "TOO MUCH PDA!"

Both Cyanide and Gerard let out annoyed noises as they banged foreheads and were forced to stop their 'making up for lost time'. Danger grinned. "C'mon, my lovelies! Time to go back and relieve Jamia. She's had Crash and Burn for half the day now; she's probably going batshit."

We all pulled our masks back on. As we walked out of the diner, we were filled in on the transportation and names. Gerard was Party Poison, Mikey was Kobra Kid, Frank was Fun Ghoul, and Ray was Jet Star. Cyanide finally asked if they had seen Girl. Everyone went silent, and Ger—Poison—looked very tired. "They took her, and they killed a good friend of ours."

When Poison said that, I caught sight of a young man sitting on the ground, beside a shape covered in a white sheet. Ghoul ran over to get him. I heard the conversation, despite a fresh round of freaking out from Cyanide. "Riot, we're going to go see a friend of ours... Well, my wife and kids."

The boy looked up at him and snapped, "I'm not leaving her."

After a few moments, Ghoul jogged back. "Riot's not coming. We can't leave him here alone."

"We could get Theory to bring the kids here," Danger suggested. "I mean, she's got the old Viper."

We agreed, and Danger got Theory on the radio. When she agreed, we all went back in the diner and waited. There was the sound of a familiar engine and I watched as the old Dodge Viper pulled into the driveway. Burn and Crash fled towards the diner, with Theory jogging behind them. I met them there, scooping the cute twins up as best as I could. "Hey, guys!"

They talked over one another, in those sweet voices of theirs. When they finally detached from me to go in search of Cyanide. They loved their aunt, even though she was dark one moment and cheery the next. They stopped when they saw Ghoul watching them. Crash figured it out first. "Daddy...?"

Together they sped forwards, almost bowling their dad over. Theory laughed from behind me, and when I turned, she'd taken on that air of pure joy that I'd so rarely seen. I patted her shoulder. "Go get him."

Theory took a step forwards. "Frank...?" she tentatively murmured.

His head shot up, and their eyes locked. I looked away, not wanting to intrude. It was too sweet.

We hung out at the Die Diner for a while. The guys discussed the plans to go get Girl back from BL/Ind, and Cyanide planned with them. Poison had put his foot down on anyone going but them, so we girls were stuck to hold down the fort. A couple of days passed in the fashion of going on patrols in pairs (the others were left to watch Crash and Burn, except a few times when I went out and took them with me to go patrol the back roads). Eventually it was time for the guys to leave. With plenty of goodbyes, they were gone.

I eventually went out with Danger and Theory to go on a raid for more food. _I'm getting sick of dog food..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Jeopardy Jinx POV**

Time passed slowly. When I finally stopped crying, the church was still and quiet. I stood and walked out, in the direction I had come from. Outside, all was calm. The clouds no longer churned—they let sunlight filter through the cracks and illuminate the silent city. I wandered through the streets. I couldn't be the only person. I found myself walking out of the city, down Route Guano. I wished I had a motorcycle.

And suddenly it was there, an old BL/Ind bike that had been spray-painted a bunch of neon colours that had faded over time. It reminded me of the one I had found in the garage of the Die Diner, except that one was yellow. I hopped on the bike (despite the skirt) and gunned it in the direction of the Die Diner. I didn't stop there. I kept going east, speeding through the desert recklessly. Soon enough, I saw the border to Nevada, and signs directing me towards Las Vegas. I followed them. The streets were empty. Just my luck—Las Vegas was deserted, too. I continued north for God knows how long, until the air grew colder and the sun set. I wasn't tired; I supposed ghosts didn't need sleep. So I kept going. Time flew by quickly, for some reason.

Suddenly, I was flying, too. The ground flew up at me, but I didn't feel pain as I smacked into the hard blacktop. I tumbled head-over-heels, and ended up in a small heap on the side of the road, laughing my ass off. It was actually sort of fun without the pain or fear of getting killed. Eventually I stood up and moved on. I drove until I was bored, then stopped. I realised where I was. I was home—actually _home_. I walked up the familiar drive, and tried the door. It was unlocked. A fine layer of dust covered everything, but other than that, it was undisturbed.

I walked up to my old room, grinning at all of the old posters. My comforter was the same neon green, and my alarm clock was the same mellow purple. Band tees were scattered on the floor, and a pair of Converse sat on my desk, with a marker beside them. My laptop was there, with the Apple logo blinking lazily. I sat on my bed, looking around. I had painted the walls yellow, but almost every inch was covered in posters and pictures. One wall had been bare, before I had gotten a can of paint and called Riot over. It had become painted with different symbols, and a conversation that was too weird to describe.

I lay there for a while, and finally slipped into something that I suppose was the dead's equivalent of sleep.

**_=X=_**

**Hydrogen Cyanide POV**

Danger came running towards me at top speed, with Lego and Theory directly behind her. Theory spoke, though, eyes excited. "We found something amazing!"

"It's called Cure-All," Danger chattered. "There's a warehouse full of it, guarded by like a hundred Dracs. Well… It was."

Lego was a bit calmer. "It cures everything—ray gun wounds, broken bones, and even death. At least, that's what we think. How else would BL/Ind's numbers never decrease?"

"How else would Korse still be alive? Or NewsAGoGo?" asked Theory.

I mulled that over. It was a distinct possibility that BL/Ind had come up with something like this. How else would Korse be alive, after all the rumours that he had been shot and killed? There was only one way to test it.

I took one of the vials of clear liquid from Lego and walked over to the tiny blue-haired girl on the ground. Her name had been Jeopardy Jinx. My blood boiled at the sight of her young, peaceful face. She had died before she could truly live.

_Here goes nothing._

I poured the liquid into her mouth and on both places where she had been shot (her right cheek and the back of her neck). Minutes passed. The silence was suddenly pierced by a curious hissing noise. Jinx's chest rose and fell as she began to breathe again. Her uncanny violet eyes snapped open and she sat up.

"Who are you?" she asked hoarsely. "Where are the guys?"

"I'm Hydrogen Cyanide," I told her gently. "These are my friends: Agent Lego, Conspiracy Theory, and Danger Mouse."

"And the guys?" her voice grew demanding. "Party Poison, Kobra Kid, Jet Star, Fun Ghoul, and Silent Riot?"

Danger told her. Jinx shot to her feet. "I need to get to them!"

And suddenly she was running, surprisingly well in the skirt and heels she had been changed into for what would've been her funeral. She disappeared into the garage and came back on an old motorcycle—apparently an old BL/Ind model that had been spray-painted yellow and allowed to fade in the sun. The back tire of the bike slung gravel everywhere (including on us).

We watched as she disappeared down Route Guano. I swapped an _uh-oh_ look with the others. Lego frowned. "I wonder if that was a good idea…"

"Probably not," Theory sighed. "At least she's going to help the guys."

Together, we walked back to the Die Diner, and clustered around the radio for Dr. D's evening broadcast.

_"Look alive, sunshine!"_

**I actually wrote the second half of this in Science about, oh, a month ago or something.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Jeopardy Jinx POV**

It was harder to drive a motorcycle outside of… well… wherever I had been in death. I also had to deal with the semi-dressy clothes, which made weaving around the usual Route Guano debris difficult, to say the least. But I managed, even pulling my dressy blue, sparkly mask from my small black side-pouch purse and putting the mask on. Soon I was in Battery City, screeching to a halt in front of the tall building.

I felt a sense of déjà vu. But there was no irrational sense of fear—no undead friends, no 10-foot-spiders, and not even any Dracs. Well, scratch that. As I walked inside, I saw two dead Dracs, except these were wearing smiley face masks. It was almost creepier than the Dracula masks they had gotten their name from.

I made sure my mask was on, and ran up the stairs. No alarms were going off, so apparently the guys hadn't been discovered. I found myself in a long hallway. Almost silently, I stepped forwards. I heard two quiet shots from behind a door to my left, which was clearly marked "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W/ Unit". Through the glass, I could see a familiar figure. I toed the door open, and clicked the safety back on. Kobra was keeping watch as the others stood in the control room just inside this room.

Silently, I holstered my gun and walked over to Kobra. His gun was instantly trained on my forehead. I held my hands up, showing I was no threat.

"How?" was the incredulous question.

I quietly explained about the group of women and the two little girls. I would leave my experiences in the world of the dead for a later date. After I told him about everything, Kobra hugged me, which I returned whole-heartedly. Then the alarms started blaring.

"Poison," I heard Ghoul tell the red-haired man. "Time to go."

Poison had been hugging Girl—that much I could tell from the curly mass of hair peeking out from behind his shoulder. I pushed open the glass door, saying, "C'mon. We need to get out of here!"

I saw everyone's eyes snap to me.

"Jinx?" Poison queried.

I rolled my eyes in mock annoyance. "Well, duh. Let's go. I don't want to die again."

It seemed Ghoul had forgotten those two stun-shots, because as soon as we were outside, he hugged me. My aversion to human contact had vanished with my psychosis, so I hugged him back.

"Hey, you didn't shoot me!" exclaimed Ghoul.

I smiled wryly. "I can, if you'd like."

"Nah, I'm good."

We caught back up to the others fairly easily. All of us walked back downstairs to the lobby. There we found a swarm of Dracs waiting for us. With a fierce cry, I sprung into the fray. Drac after Drac fell due to my shots. Kobra fought to my left, throwing punches and shooting like a madman.

Riot finally found me, and I realised that I had missed that cocky smirk. We pressed our backs together, and turned in a slow circle. It allowed us to watch each other's backs while shooting any Dracs. It was also fun, because we had a better plan than said Dracs most times. From the corner of my eye, I saw Korse and a flash of red…

He'd cornered Poison!

I set out at a dead run, but I felt like I couldn't run fast enough. All I saw was the fear plain on Poison's face… Suddenly I was behind Korse, my arms around his neck, pulling as hard as I could. I ripped him backwards, shrieking, "GET HIM!"

Poison seemed like he was in shock; he moved incredibly slowly. I felt Korse struggling, and noted he wasn't as good a fighter as Kobra. Suddenly I remembered just how easily Kobra had thrown me to the ground, so I kicked the back of Korse's knee. He dropped to the ground. I pressed my knee into his back. There was a quiet shock and the struggling stopped. Jet stood there, blue ray gun still smoking. He smiled once, and went back to join the fray.

Before much longer, the fight was over. Even Girl had shot a few Dracs, herself. I wondered where NewsAGoGo had gotten to. With her alive, there would be no safety. I mentioned that to the guys. Everyone agreed that we needed to find her, so we split up to search. I walked with Riot, who was unusually silent. It bugged me.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

He took a moment. "I'm afraid, Jinx."

I wrinkled my eyebrows in confusion. Since when did Riot get afraid? "Why?"

"I can't lose you again," he said, piercing me with those stunning emerald eyes of his.

"You won't," I insisted firmly. "Nothing—come Hell or high water—will keep me from you. Nothing."

That earned me an unfathomable look. "You can't promise that."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Riot cut me off, shaking his head. "Don't. Just don't."

"For the first time in my life, I can see things so clearly!" I said urgently. "I feel free, Riot! I'm not hallucinating. I'm not paranoid… No more psychosis! All of this terrible, awful stuff has happened to me, and _you're_ scared? _You're_ scared! I was _dead_! Am _I_ scared? No. I'm ready to fucking _fight_! Now that I can actually think clearly, I'm going to fight like I never have before. I'm going to make BL/Ind crumble, Riot. With or without your help."

We'd made it halfway up the stairs to the second floor by that point. Something changed on Riot's face. "Jinx, you're making me feel guilty."

"You should," I retorted heatedly. "Stand up and be a man about it!"

Something flitted across his face I couldn't identify. Suddenly he hushed me. I let out an angry noise, hell-bent on continuing.

"I hear something!" Riot hissed, pulling out his gun and checking his mask.

I did the same, staying quiet. We crept up to the second floor landing, finding a loud commotion. Ghoul and Jet were the culprits. Dracs lay on the ground, piled all around the two. Jet raised his hand for a high-five. Ghoul had to jump to reach.

Riot and I continued on, until another scuffle was heard. There, we found Poison and Kobra fighting hard. Where was Girl…? _There!_ NewsAGoGo had her, a curved blade pressed to the younger girl's throat. Girl was still struggling.

Poison saw her first. "GIRL!"

"Daddy!" Girl shrieked, reaching out for Poison.

I'll admit: I've never seen Poison's eyes get that big. Several things suddenly made sense. Girl was apparently Bandit, Poison's daughter. NewsAGoGo smirked evilly. "Well, it seems we've gained some valuable information on the _untouchable_—" she spat the word "—Party Poison. Who are your friends, though? The dead girl and the boy that's probably going to pieces as we speak?"

"Jeopardy Jinx and Silent Riot," I announced as I raised my gun. "Oh, and that blue-haired girl's such a bitch."

My attempt to distract NewsAGoGo worked pretty well. Her eyes flashed to me, and her grip on Girl loosened just enough for her to get away and run to Poison. The pretty Asian woman dropped her blade, and raised her own white gun. Time slowed down.

I dropped to the floor as the blast shot over my head. I fired a couple of rounds, but NewsAGoGo ducked out of the way every time. I realised that I had to get her back towards the guys. If I did that, one well-aimed shot would take her out forever. How the hell would I manage _that?_

I dove behind the woman, and she whirled. She was going to kill me if someone didn't act.

"Goodbye, News!" I sweetly chirped, waving.

Confusion swept across her face. But it was erased as the quiet shot sounded and she fell, dead.


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

A long time has passed. Every morning, I open my eyes to a new dawn and thank God that I've lived this long. BL/Ind headquarters around the world have fallen. The seven of us—Poison, Kobra, Ghoul, Jet, Riot, Girl, and I—were revered as heroes. We were all given medals. None of us wanted them.

Today, the Killjoys alone are allowed to carry the ray guns generally reserved for police only. We only carry them due to paranoia, though. Could you blame us? So many of us were shot, imprisoned, or even tortured. Even more died, and were not as lucky as I was.

The Killjoys have since disbanded, fading into the shadows from which we came. We have not been forgotten. The history books regard us as vigilante heroes, held together by a love of art and free expression. It's true, in a way. But we were all bound by a love stronger than that in most families. We still are a family. Albeit a large, dysfunctional family, but a family all the same.

I still live in the Die Diner with Riot—now known as Matthew or Matt—and our lovely one-year-old daughter, Kiiri. She's blonde like me, with amber hazel eyes like her father. I'm a school teacher, teaching young children about their history. Matt is a mechanic and a musician on the side. Generally, Kiiri stays with Jamia, Cherry, and Lily when we're at work. If they're not available, she stays with Bandit and Lindsey. Oh, and the guys? They're back to making music. We all talk quite frequently, though…

**=X=**

It's Friday. I'm outside, on the curb, waiting for the old Trans Am to come racing into view. There it is, followed by a faded yellow motorcycle carrying two people and an old Dodge Viper, its blue paint faded and rusted in the California sun. All three pull up, bearing Killjoys and their children. They're dressed in the bright, mismatched outfits that mark a Killjoy.

I brush my blonde hair out of my face (it's long since faded from the neon blue of my past) and wave. Bandit slips out of the car and runs as fast as she can towards me, yelling, "CASSIE!"

I hug her tightly, kissing her forehead. "Hey, baby doll! How are you?"

We see each other at least once a week, but it's always the same. The two of us act like we haven't seen each other in years. She's like my little sister—only I never had one. Cherry and Lily come running, too. They hug me tightly, babbling over one another cheerfully. Then the kids run past me, into the diner. Frank—having about as much energy as an eight year old—gives me a squeezy hug.

"Hey, Frankenstein," I tease.

He grins. "I got a new tattoo!"

"Seriously? Lemme see!"

Forever etched into his right wrist is the widow symbol. My grin grows as he explains. "Everyone but Gee got one. Well, and you and Matt."

I add that to my mental checklist of things I need to get done. Now, if only we can convince Gerard to get the tattoo (I'm sure Matt will get it as soon as Frank shows him, and dinner's over), we'll be in business!

We all walk inside, hugging and joking and laughing. Chairs and tables have been lined up down the middle of the large dining room, making enough room for all of us. I excuse myself to go find Kiiri and Matt.

Matt is in the kitchen, with Kiiri sitting in the pantry, playing with toy blocks. I sweep her up in my arms, planting kisses on her cheeks and forehead.

"Try this!" says Matt, holding out a fork piled with baked beans.

They're one of two things I let him cook. Maybe I've underestimated him… I nod in approval. It's good. Matt smiles and I hand Kiiri to him, telling him to put her in her high chair. He kisses my cheek and is gone. I set about loading the food onto the old-fashioned cart we found in the desert and repaired. Then I push it to the dining room. Everyone serves themselves, and we sit down.

"I'd like to raise a toast!" I holler over the din. They're all silent almost instantly.

"To creativity, individuality, friends, family, and freedom," I say.

We toast. Mikey chips in. "To freedom of expression."

"To art and love," Gerard quietly says, smiling at Lindsey and Bandit.

Ray grins. "To music!"

"To staring death in the face and saying, 'Fuck you!'" Frank adds, grinning devilishly.

We all clink our glasses together and tuck into the food like we have every Friday for almost two years. There in the diner, we're still the Fabulous Killjoys. We're still the ragtag group of friends. We're still a family.

But out in the real world?

We are the kids from yesterday.

**You probably want to kill me for the end. It's over-used, cliche, and terrible. But when I wrote it, I nearly bust out crying, in the middle of science. This story took a lot to close, because I wanted to sort of end it with them still running, but I realised that it needed to end. I wanted to kill perfection and bring back our beautiful mess of a world. Because that's how it's supposed to be. And don't think it's a happy ending. You think everyone's gonna get along? They won't. Families never do. I digress.**

**And I want you to know, that this story basically shows all the things I hold dear, in one way or another: friendship, love, humour, color, freedom of expression, art, family... The list goes on.**

**I cut of my ramblings with a huge, ginormous, amazing, sparkly thank-you to any of the, oh..., 3 people that read the story. Oh, and the -2 that actually read this author's note. I love you guys so much! Keep running!**

**~The Writer Child, AKA: TWC, AKA: Electric Ice, AKA: Caiti**


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